


Nice Tattoo

by WillieThomas2005



Series: JatP AUs [2]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: Alex Mercer Has Anxiety (Julie and the Phantoms), F/F, F/M, Inspired by Wattpad story, Julie and Willie are best friends and you can fight me on that, M/M, Soulmate AU, Soulmate Tattoos, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, have fun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:08:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29645553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WillieThomas2005/pseuds/WillieThomas2005
Summary: Three friends in college meet a boy-band who needs some help. Only one of the six has met their soulmate, but that might change soon. Fears are overcome, feelings are realized, rules are broken, and music is made.
Relationships: Alex Mercer & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie Peters, Alex Mercer & Luke Patterson & Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Flynn & Julie Molina, Flynn & Julie Molina & Willie, Flynn & Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms), Flynn & Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Flynn/Carrie Wilson, Julie Molina & Willie, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson, Kayla/Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms)
Series: JatP AUs [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2195340
Comments: 2
Kudos: 48





	1. Sunset Curve

**Author's Note:**

> This soulmate concept is not my idea. I got it from a Lams fanfic on Wattpad(Unwanted Tattoos). It was amazing, so I wanted to steal the concept for Julie and the Phantoms! So, if you don’t know, basically everyone has a little animal tattoo on their wrist that represents their soulmate. The more physical contact you have with the other person, the more prominent the tattoo is. The same with less physical contact.
> 
> Character- Tattoo  
> Julie Molina- Bear \  
> Willie Thomas- Hedgehog |- Two gays and a bi child  
> Flynn Jonston- Fox /  
> Luke Patterson- Cat  
> Alex Mercer- Wolf  
> Reggie Peters- Rabbit  
> Carrie Wilson- Husky  
> Kayla van Meter- Dog
> 
> Here we go!

J.M.

Willie sighs as he stares down at the very faint outline of a hedgehog on his left wrist. I glance down at my own wrist to see the same, but a bear. Flynn sits up.

“Will you two stop being so depressed? You’re making me depressed,” she says. Willie looks at her.

“Why?  _ You _ have your soulmate.  _ We _ have the right to be depressed.” Flynn looks down at the fox on her wrist. It’s for her girlfriend, Carrie Wilson. They’re soulmates. Carrie has a husky on her arm. Both of their tattoos are very prominent. Then, there’s Willie, Kayla, and me. Kayla and Carrie are at a rehearsal for their group, Dirty Candi. I don’t understand why soulmates are so hard. We’re all 23-24 years old. Shouldn’t we have met them already? If you’re gonna have a soulmate, it should be someone that is easy to find. Mine probably lives in, like, Canada, or something. It’s depressing.

“Soulmates aren’t everything, okay? You can’t let it bring you down like this just because you haven’t found them yet. My dad didn’t find Kara till he was 40,” Flynn says. Her mom and dad weren’t soulmates, and after they got divorced, Mr. Jonston found Kara, his actual soulmate.

“You’re not helping.” Willie gets up and walks to the kitchen of the apartment we all share. “What are we doing for dinner,” he says, looking at the practically bare shelves. I get up, too.

“I could go get something,” I suggest. I don’t remember the last time we bought groceries(even though I work at the local supermarket). We usually get take-out, so… ya know.

“I want pizza!” Flynn shouts from the couch.

“Okay!” I shout back. I throw on a hoodie, grab my wallet, and head out the door. The nearest pizza place is right down the street, so I just walk. It’s not until I reach the door and hear an electric guitar inside that I realize I’ve made a mistake. Tonight is open mic night at this particular pizzeria. I almost turn around and go back home, but if I do that, Flynn  _ will _ kill me. Explanation? My mom died 2 years ago, and I haven’t done anything music-related since. It was our thing. Every time I look at the abandoned keyboard in the corner of my room, I remember that she’s gone. Flynn has tried everything to get the “old me” back, but I just can’t. I avoid street performers and open mic nights at all costs… except possibly losing my life to my best friend. I take a deep breath and pull the door open. The now unmuffled sound hits me full force. I look up at the performing band to see for guys who look about my age. They have a bassist, a guitarist, a drummer, and a rhythm guitarist. They’re really good… and really cute! My eyes linger on the guitarist/singer. He’s clearly the lead. Possibly the cutest out of the four. He’s bouncing around the stage, interacting with all three of his band-mates and the audience. His energy is exploding through the room. Their songs are great, too.

_ Don’t look down _

_ Cause we’re still rising up right now! _

_ And even if we hit the ground _

_ We’ll still fly _

_ Keep dreaming like we’ll live forever! _

_ We’re living like it’s _

_ Now or never! _

It’s impressive. It’s clearly an original. They obviously have some real talent. Something seems a little off with the rhythm guitarist, but who knows. They have some real power. Mom would love this. And there we go again. Now I’m sad. The thought snaps me out of my trance though. I have no idea how long I’ve been standing here. I speed walk over to the counter. I give the guy my order then look back towards the stage. They perform a few more songs. When they finish their set, I find myself applauding along with the rest of the customers. The bassist steps up to the mic.

“We’re Sunset Curve! Tell your friends!” Sunset Curve? I certainly will. They walk off stage and the guy behind the counter calls me over to get my pizzas. I thank him and head to the door. I can’t get those boys out of my head. As soon I walk out the door, I hear voices down the alleyway beside the building.

“What the h***, Bobby?! You can’t just do that!” He sounds familiar. I look around the corner to see the boys from Sunset Curve. The lead guy seems to be real pissed with the rhythm guitarist(or Bobby, I guess).

“Luke, chill! I was caught in the moment. She asked if we wrote our songs and I said yeah, and she took as **I** wrote them, and I just didn’t correct her,” he yells back. Oh no. Is this what I think it is?

“Dude! You know how much work  **_I_ ** put into those songs! You can’t say that it was just some stupid mistake. She published it online already!” Band drama. I know I shouldn’t be listening, but this is good.

“I’m sorry, man. I just-” The drummer cuts him off.

“We don’t wanna hear it, Bobby. Just get outta here, okay?” I’m shocked. Despite the fact that he was murdering his drums, he looked like a really sweet guy. I’m so caught up in my thoughts that I don’t even realize that Bobby comes storming out of the alley right past me. When I look back down the alley, the boys are all gone. I practically run back to the apartment. This is insane.


	2. Band Drama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sappy Flynn. Just read it.

F.J.

By the time Julie gets home, Willie and I are halfway through  _ The Rise of Skywalker _ for the 16th time this month(don't ask). I have no idea what took her so long. The nearest pizza place is a 6-minute walk, so that’s 12 minutes of travel. It usually doesn’t take them long to make your pizza, but it’s been a whole hour and 10 minutes since she left. Then, suddenly, she bursts through the door with 3 pizza boxes in her arms and a shocked look on her face. I jump up and rush over to grab the pizza. Julie still has that weird look.

“What’s wrong, Jules?” She looks up as I sit the pizza on the counter.

“I witnessed some  _ real _ drama,” she says quietly. Now, she has Willie’s attention, too.

“What kind of drama?”

“Band drama.” I almost drop my plate. Willie gets up.

“Like, a music band,” he asks, thinking the same thing I am. This girl, who will go out of her way to avoid street performers of any kind, has gossip on a band? I mean, good for her, but why?

“Yes. A ‘music band.’ I’ll explain,” she says, coming around the counter to get her own pizza. “So, I walked all the way there, but as soon as I got to the door, I could hear rock music inside and realized it was open mic night. I almost turned around, but I knew you would kill me if I came back without pizza. So, I went in, thinking I could just ignore it. News flash: I failed. The band on stage was actually really good, though. They had this great energy, but something seemed off about their rhythm guitarist. I didn't think much of it until I walked out the door and heard yelling down the alley. It was the band. The lead guitarist, Luke, I think, was really mad at Bobby, the rhythm guy. Apparently, he told some reporter lady that he writes all of their songs, but he doesn’t. Luke does. And now it’s too late to correct his stupid mistake because the lady already posted it online. I’m pretty sure they might have kicked him out of the band, but I was stuck in my head and didn’t hear the last part of their argument.” As soon as she finishes talking, she shoves half a piece of pizza into her mouth. I’m too shocked to say anything.

“You actually survived going in?” Julie glares at Willie.

“Yes, William. I did. I thought of her once, but I couldn’t help watching their show. I don’t know how it didn’t send me into a breakdown. I don’t care, though. I survived. It’s a big improvement, right?” She smiles sadly. Before I know it, I’m hugging her. I’m not an emotional person… usually. However, when my best friend from preschool takes one of the biggest steps she has in the past 2 two years, I’m going to be affected. I think Willie knows that this is just a Double Trouble moment because he stands back and eats his pizza. When I finally pull back, I see tears in Julie’s eyes and I feel them coming to me, too.

“No, don’t cry. You guys are gonna make me cry,” Willie whines, finally joining our hug. We stand like this for a few minutes before I pull myself together.

“Okay. That’s enough sappiness for today. The pizza is gettin’ cold.” We wipe our eyes, grab more food and walk back to the couch to finish our movie. Who cares if these two idiots haven’t found their lovers? They’re  _ my _ platonic soulmates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ba-da!


	3. Wake Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meetin' the Boys! from willie pov! Also... Julie is back to normal! or... as normal as Julie Molina can be...

W.T.

It’s barely 9 am when I awaken to the sound of music **(The hills are ALIVE!)**. It’s really weird. I haven’t heard music this early in the morning since… you know. I look outside my room to see Flynn standing outside Julie’s closed door, beaming. I walk over to her.

“What-” She holds up her hand telling me to shut up. She nods her head in the direction of the door. I stare at it for a moment before realizing that that’s where the music is coming from.

_ Wake up, wake up _

_ If it’s all you do _

_ Look out, look inside of you _

_ It’s not what you lost _

_ It’s what you gain _

_ Raising your voice to the rain. _

Holy s***! That’s Julie’s voice! She’s singing! And by the sound of it, she’s playing, too! This is insane. I look at Flynn, my eyes wide. She gives me a look.  _ I know, right? _ I put my hand on the doorknob. Flynn smiles. We both need to see this. I slowly open the door to see Julie standing there with her keyboard in front of her facing her window. The sunrise was perfectly timed, too. It streamed in through the blinds, framing Julie in this heavenly glow. It could’ve been a scene from a movie. I glance sideways to see Flynn with her phone out, recording. Thank god. We need to remember this  _ forever _ . Julie reaches the final notes of the song and sits back down on her bed. Flynn and I just stand here, not sure what to do. Julie takes the sheet music off the piano and hugs it to her chest. After a minute, Flynn knocks on the doorframe. Julie jumps and spins around. There are streaks on her face from tears.

“Hey, girl,” Flynn says quietly, walking over to her. Julie sniffs and smiles.

“Hey. Did I wake you guys?” I flop down on her bed.

“Yeah, but we loved it.” Julie lays down, too. Flynn throws herself on top of both of us. We lay like that for a while. Then, Flynn speaks up.

“What made you play again?”

“Yesterday, listening to that band, I thought, ‘Mom would love this.’ I realized that that’s why I should play. She would want me to. To keep her memory alive. I can’t let music be something that just makes me sad forever. She wouldn’t want me to waste what I’ve got.”

“That was deep,” I say. Julie elbows me. Hard.

“Shut up, you insensitive a******.” She shoves Flynn off of her and leaves the room. I follow. Flynn gets up and crashes into me in the hallway. I am then forced to give her a piggy-back ride to the kitchen. Julie is already making breakfast. She’s holding pancake-mix. Yes! Jellybean always adds her own twist to pancakes. They are delicious. While those bake, we all go get dressed. As soon as the pancakes are ready, we all sit around the counter and eat.

“Does this mean you’re gonna try to go back to a music major,” Flynn asks. Julie shrugs. The three of us are juniors in college. I’m an art major. Flynn majors in management/ business/advertisement stuff. Julie started as a music major, but when her mom died she transferred to English/literature. Now that the real Julie is back, maybe she’ll fix that, too.

“Maybe. I dunno. Ms. Harrison said that there were only so many spots. That’s why I had to transfer in the first place.” We keep eating while Flynn just talks about random things. Once we’re done, we sit there awkwardly. It’s Sunday. We have nothing to do.

“Let’s go to the pier,” I suggest. Julie used to love that. There’s always someone performing down there. Julie jumps up.

“Yes, please. It’s been so long.” As we follow her to the door, Flynn and I share a look.  _ We know. _

We decide to take a long, relaxing walk to the beach. Well, the girls walk. I skate the whole way. It’s so much better than walking, but it’s annoying that they can’t keep up. We finally reach our destination. We stand there staring at the water in silence for a few minutes before Julie drags us across the sand like a child. We’re walking along the beach, collecting little shells and trinkets that we find when Julie freezes. For a second, I think that she’s changed her mind about letting music back in because she’s staring at a band that’s performing ahead of us. She points at them.

“That’s them. That’s the band from last night. Sunset… Swerve? I dunno. Come on!” She grabs our hands and yanks us forward. I guess she’s too caught up in her head because I run straight into someone. Julie just lets go of my hand and keeps going. I stand up and grab my dropped skateboard to examine it for any damage.

“Ah, man. You dinged my board.” The other guy stands up angrily.

“I dinged your board? You ran me over! You're lucky  _ I’m _ not hurt!” I look up and lock eyes with the man before me and… holy s***. He’s beautiful. His eyes are this striking bluish-green. His blonde hair has fallen over his sweaty face. Is he in this band? Is he staring at me? Am I staring?! F***.

“Um- sorry. I didn’t mean to- my friend was just- I don’t know. I’m sorry.” His glare softens.

“It’s fine.” He turns back and I look around for my friends. I find them talking to a guy with a guitar slung over his back. I walk over to them.

“What’s up?” Julie turns.

“This is Luke. He’s the guitarist for Sunset  _ Curve _ .” Luke smiles and nods his head toward the blonde guy.

“I see you've met Alex already,” he says. Alex. That’s a nice name.

“Um… sort of.” He chuckles.

“Sorry about him. He’s not in the best mood today. None of us are. Something happened yesterday and now we don’t have a rhythm guitarist.” He smiles sadly. Yeah, dude. We know. Our friend was spying on you.

“Yeah. There was something unbalanced just now,” Julie says.

“You a musician?” Julie blinks, clearly not sure how she should answer.

“Um… kind of. I just got back into it,” she says.

“What do you play,” Luke asks, apparently very interested.

“I play piano, but I sing, too.”

“Keys! That’s what we need!” He turns to the other guitarist. “Reg, I figured out what we need!”

“Yeah. Keys. You yelled it,” he says, “But what are we gonna do with that information? None of us can play the piano.” Luke turns back to Julie. She looks at Flynn and I, knowing what’s coming.

“Julie. Could you come to our rehearsal on Friday? Just to test something?”

“Uh… I don’t know if-”

“Pleeeeease!” She looks at us like she’s asking for permission. We both nod vigorously.

“Sure. Where is it?” They keep talking and Flynn goes to talk with the other guy. I lean on a palm tree. I’m just watching them talk when someone taps me on the shoulder. I turn to see Alex(cute guy).

“Hey. I’m sorry for getting so mad a minute ago. I know it was an accident. I’m just not having the best day. Well, week really.” He looks down sadly. I don’t know why, but it makes  _ me _ sad.

“What do you mean?” He shrugs.

“I mean… one of our bandmates and friends lied to some reporter lady and we lost him, and now our band is totally out of balance. Plus, my parents hate me now.” He shoves his hands in his pockets.

“Well, my friend Julie over there might be able to help with the balance problem, but I’m not sure what else I can do.” Then, I realize. “I’m Willie by the way.”

“Alex.” I know. “That’s great. I can see that Luke has taken a liking to her already.” I look over to see Julie laughing at something the boys said. Luke is smiling wide.

“Yeah. What if they’re soulmates? That would be insane.” Alex chuckles.

“Crazy. It would be cute though.” I look at him and smile. He smiles, too, but I can still see the sadness in his eyes.

“Why do you think your parents hate you?” Is that too far? Am I being pushy? I just met this guy and now I’ve messed it up.

“Oh, I don’t think. I know,” he says. He looks up at the clouds before continuing. “I came out to them the other day and they were  _ not _ happy.” Came out? Is he...? I think I’m dying. How dare someone hurt his feelings?!

“That sucks, man. My mom was pretty accepting. My dad left before I even knew what gay meant.” He’s quiet and for a second I think I somehow misread his statement. “What?”

“Nothing. I just- you- I didn’t think- you don’t- I-” I hold up my hand to stop him.

“Hey, calm down. It’s okay.” He blushes. I smile. We stand in silence for a minute. Then, Julie skips over with Flynn in tow.

“Willie, I’m hungry. Can we go now?” Alex chuckles.

“Since when am I in charge of that?” Julie blinks in response. “Okay. Let’s go.” Julie grabs my hand and starts pulling me away. I wave to Alex and follow her. “So, where are we going?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I asked about the soulmate thing in another story and got confirmation. So, i have another question... I have a coffee shop AU too... hehe. yea. ya see where this is going? Would you guys like to see that from me? i dunno... i only have one chapt so far, but there will be more. do you want that? please respond


	4. It Can't Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "HOLY FRICK WILLIE LOOK!"- julie's brain in this chapter

J.M. 

We decide to grab Chinese food on our way home. There’s a really nice place halfway there., so it’s perfect. We walk and talk about what’s happening on Friday.

“So, are you part of the band or…” Willie asks.

“No. I’m just helping them figure out some stuff,” I answer. My friends smile, clearly very happy that I’m back to my “weird” self. I am, too. Then, Willie wraps his arm around my shoulder and smirks.

“So… Luke is totally in love with you.” I shove him away.

“Excuse me! You can’t say anything! You were totally drooling over the drummer,” I shoot back. His whole face goes bright red.

“His name is Alex and that is not true! You ran me into him! Then, he apologized and we just talked.”

“About what,” Flynn says, joining in the teasing.

“He was upset about some things and I just… I don’t know.”

“What things, though?”

“Well… he was mad about losing their rhythm guitarist and I said that you might be helping with that, then he said that his parents hate him. I asked why and he said that he came out to them a couple days ago and they weren’t happy.” We nod along.

“So… he’s gay?” Of course, that’s the only thing that comes to Flynn’s mind. Willie shrugs.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Did you-”

“Oh look! We’re here!” He yanks open the door to the restaurant and walks in, clearly avoiding Flynn, now. We follow him to the counter. We put in our order, then Flynn turns on me.

“Willie was right though. Luke never stopped smiling when he looked at you. He’s totally gone,” she says.

“What? No! He-”

“And you laughed at, like, every ‘funny’ thing he said,” she continues. 

“I hate you.” They call us up to get our food. As Willie reaches over the counter, I see something that makes me gasp. He turns around, confused.

“What?” I grab his wrist and turn it upwards to see a hedgehog. Except it’s a lot more visible now. Willie looks down and his eyes go wide. Flynn grabs the bag before he drops it out of shock. “Holy s***! How- Who- What- I… huh?!”

“Who all have you touched since yesterday,” I ask. He thinks for a moment.

“I mean… you guys… and… uh…” he pauses and his eyes widen further. “Alex. Oh my god! You don’t think- no, it can’t… could it. I- wha- AH!” The lady behind the counter is giving us strange looks so Flynn and I guide this panicking child out of the Chinese restaurant. “There- there is no way that Alex is my soulmate. It’s not possible. I-I mean, did you see him? He’s f****** beautiful. H-he can’t be… could he?”

“I mean… I can see it,” Flynn, offers.

“It would be really cute,” I say. Willie smiles slightly.

“Thanks... I don’t know. We’ll see.” We walk back to the apartment in silence. Flynn throws herself on the couch and pulls up Disney+ and plays _Tangled_ (Willie’s favorite **\- it’s a creative decision, okay** ). When someone is confused or scared, you distract them with Disney and dinner… and maybe dessert and karaoke later(DDDK). Right?


End file.
